Tenders for €10m project to be advertised within weeks

Last month, Mayo County Council granted permission for the project, and the 30-day period has now elapsed during which any objectors can appeal to An Bord Pleanála. No appeals have been lodged which means the Council can now commence preparations for making the Centre of Excellence dream a reality. "We expect to start advertising for tenders for the work in the coming weeks, and we would hope to have work commenced by late autumn," said Connacht GAA Secretary John Prenty. The Council purchased a 60-acre site at Cloonacurry, Bekan - on the Knock-Ballyhaunis road - and Mr Prenty said preparations would begin immediately. "Contract prices have reduced substantially in recent times, so we should get good value now," he said. The Centre will feature six outdoor GAA pitches, a state-of-the-art indoor pitch, gymnasium, and related facilities. "We are absolutely delighted with this news. It means we can progress our plans now to build the first provincial GAA Centre of Excellence in the country, and the benefits will be felt by young sportspeople and their mentors all over the province," said Mr Prenty. "The permission granted to us by Mayo County Council involves us scaling back our plans in some areas, and we are happy to do that. We addressed worries expressed by local residents in the area and everything is now in place," he added. Money generated by rugby and soccer internationals in Croke Park has been earmarked for the project. "The big winners in this project will be young people from all over the province. The Centre is ideally located in the middle of the province, and we now look forward to a day soon when the Centre is used on a daily basis," said Mr Prenty. "It is an historic time for the GAA in Connacht. We would hope to have the project completed by 2012."